


What Could Have Been

by AngelFace273



Category: Thumbelina (1994)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, F/M, Fluff, Gen, I love sass, Sass, The Author Regrets Nothing, mostly just fluff though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-26
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2018-01-02 16:30:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1059053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelFace273/pseuds/AngelFace273
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five moments where Thumbelina's story could've had a happy ending just a little sooner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Wedding to Mr. Mole

**Author's Note:**

> I love and adore Don Bluth's Thumbelina with all my heart and soul. No question. It's cute, it's fun, it's romantic, it's funny, there's singing, and it all wraps up in a big happy ending. It is my feel-good movie, and I will fight anyone who slanders it.
> 
> However, even I can't help but notice a few moments where the happy ending could have come just a bit sooner if the characters (mostly Thumbelina) had done just one little something different.
> 
> This is also a chance for me to really get into the minds of some of the characters, which may be played upon in another story.
> 
> So here are 5 "what if" instances, starting from the end of the movie to the beginning, that I feel could have gone differently.

Absently twisting the ring on her finger, Thumbelina stood behind the curtains, waiting for her cue from the organist. She was determined not to get cold feet now, moments before her wedding. She wished her mother was here, but Thumbelina could go visit her in the spring, right? That’s what Ms. Field-mouse had said, and she owed Ms. Field-mouse so much already. Saving her from the cold, feeding and housing her, setting up her wedding to Mr. Mole, Thumbelina should’ve been grateful and happy.

Cornelius would have wanted her to be happy, right?

 _Cornelius…_ The name shot through her heart, warming and clenching it at the same time. Just then, the organist played her cue and the curtain rose. Thumbelina took once last glance at her ring before covering it with her other hand and started the wedding march.

But as she walked, her mind was still stuck on her late beloved. Happening to look to her right, Thumbelina saw her reflection in the glass and could easily picture Cornelius standing next to it, singing their song.

 

_Let me be your wings,_

_Let me be your only love,_

_Let me take far beyond the stars…_

“Uh, Mr. Mole. Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?” The voice of the priest snapped Thumbelina out of her trance, and she whirled back to the front to resume walking. She only made it a few more paces before the urge to look at her ring again beckoned to her like a siren’s song.

The emerald gem reminded her of Cornelius’ eyes so strongly that Thumbelina could have sworn that his face was part of its shine, and their song echoed in her head.

 

_Let me be your wings,_

_Let me lift you high above,_

_Everything we’re dreaming of_

_will soon be ours…_

“Ahem. I do.” Struggling, Thumbelina tore her eyes from her ring at Mr. Mole’s voice only for the melting wax in the candle to grab her attention, the vision of her prince already there singing his heart out to her.

 

_Anything that you desire,_

_Anything at all…_

“And Thumbelina, do you take this Mole to be your lawful wedded husband?” But Thumbelina was still too deep in memories to fully acknowledge the priest. Images of Cornelius and their night together rolled through her head before a particularly vivid one played out.

 

_“Do not forget me?” Thumbelina begged as she took her new necklace off and gently placed it around Cornelius’ neck. She was terrified of waking up and discovering this was all a dream, or worse, Cornelius waking tomorrow morning and thinking it was just a dream. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to live if he forgot about this night, though she knew she’d never be able to forget. Thumbelina wanted this moment to last forever._

_Cornelius’ eyes softened and filled with love as he looked at his new accessory. “'Forget-Me-Not's,” he breathed, before remembering the royal ring on his finger. “Oh, I’ll never forget you,” he vowed as he took the ring off and slipped it on her left ring finger. A perfect fit. “Never.”_ _  
_

_“Never, never,” Thumbelina replied, and they leaned into each other, the gap between their lips shrinking…_

“Speak up!” The voice of the priest prompting her broke through her trance once more, but Thumbelina’s heart was decided. She simply couldn’t follow through with this wedding. If she married without love, her life would be empty and meaningless.

And this mole, no matter how rich he was, could never gain her heart and love.

“Never,” she murmured.

“I beg your pardon?” the priest gasped, startled. He’d performed weddings for years, and he was sure that wasn’t in the script.

Thumbelina looked up at the priest, emboldened by finally being able to speak for herself since she was kidnapped. “Never!” she repeated, her voice growing in intensity. “I cannot marry Mr. Mole. I don’t love him!”

Suddenly, she glanced over to said mole. He looked thunderstruck and a little hurt, and Thumbelina’s intensity softened. Though Mr. Mole was greedy, vain, ugly, and a rather horrid person altogether, he had been nice to her, cared about her, and had just wanted her companionship. She supposed that he did deserve a proper explanation.

Placing her hand on his arm, Thumbelina spoke kindly yet firmly, “I’m sorry Mr. Mole, but we are just too different. You are a creature of riches and the dark. I will always be yearning for nature and the sun every single day, and no amount of jewels or gold can ever change that. And I know now that I could never marry someone who doesn’t hold my heart. You are a good mole, so you deserve better than a small girl who cannot love you.”

Mr. Mole bowed his head in acknowledgement. “I understand,” he murmured. “I won’t hold you here if you do not wish to be.”

Beaming, Thumbelina gave Mr. Mole a brief hug before running back down the aisle to head for the surface. Halfway down the aisle though, Grundel the toad burst through the ceiling with a yell and landed right in front of Thumbelina. “You!” she gasped. The toad from the family who kidnapped her! The one she was almost forced to marry!

“I marry her!” Grundel proclaimed proudly, holding his arms out as if he expected her to happily leap into them.

However, hearing those words again filled Thumbelina with more anger and frustration than she’d ever felt in her life. In fact, the look on her face caused Grundel’s smile to vanish and his arms to droop a little, confusion and fear flashing across his face.

Stomping right up in his face, Thumbelina shouted, “Why won’t you just leave me alone! You’ve been following me this entire time, all in the hope that I’d marry you! You never even thought that maybe I didn’t want you? I _ran_ at the thought of being your wife!” Tears pricked her eyes as she grew quieter, though just as angry. “The only man I’ll ever love is _dead_ because your mother kidnapped me! So I no marry you, I _go home_!”

With that, Thumbelina pushed Grundel out of her way and marched down the aisle. The toad fell onto his butt, too stunned and terrified to even think of following her.

 

Finally making it out from the church, Thumbelina began retracing the path to Ms. Fieldmouse’s home in her head, planning on changing out of her silly wedding dress and going up outside. However, her path was obstructed once again by none other than Mr. Beetle.

“Hiya, toots!” he proclaimed, grinning toothily. Thumbelina, still angry from seeing Grundel again, had zero tolerance for Mr. Beetle’s antics at the moment.

“I’m not your toots!” she snapped, glaring at him. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I really don’t care! You forced me to be part of your stupid ball, embarrassed me in front of an audience, and called me ugly, so I never want to see you again! Now get out of my way and don’t _ever_  come near me again!”

Mr. Beetle, being a very big coward, quickly scurried far to the side, muttering apologies as he moved. Thumbelina, satisfied, continued down the path, ripping off the frilly collar on her neck and reaching up to undo her hair as she went to help placate her anger a little.

 

* * *

 

Hair down and anger gone, Thumbelina strolled down the path that she remembered led to Ms. Fieldmouse’s burrow. Daydreaming about the possibility of the sun being out again, she didn’t even notice Gnatty the Jitterbug until he flew right into her. Startled, Thumbelina looked down to see Gnatty hugging her waist with all his might.

“Thumbelina!” he cried, ecstatic. “We’ve been looking all over for you! I almost thought we’d never find you in these tunnels, but I remembered Jaquimo telling us to just follow our hearts, so I did, and I found you!”

“Gnatty!” Thumbelina laughed, hugging him back. “Take a moment to breathe! I’ve missed you so much. Where’s Li’l Bee and Baby Bug? They are with you, right?”

Gnatty blinked for a moment, then let go of Thumbelina to fly a bit further down the tunnel. “Oh yeah, they’re down this way!” Turning to the darkness ahead, Gnatty shouted as loud as he could, “HEY GUYS! I FOUND HER! I FOUND THUMBELINA!”

Cries of relief and the fluttering of wings was what Thumbelina heard from the darkness as she waited with excitement at the thought of seeing her friends again.

The very last thing she expected to see as well was Cornelius, alive and well, flying from the darkness to land next to Gnatty. She could hardly believe her eyes, and was in such a state of shock that she didn’t even notice the Jitterbugs hovering next to her.

“You,” she breathed, tears beginning to run down her face. “It’s you. Cornelius, you’re alive!” 

And with that, the two ran for each other, and collided into such an embrace that one would think they were trying to mold into a single being. They took a moment to look into each other’s eyes, before connecting into the sweetest and most loving kiss the world had ever known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


	2. Meeting Mr. Beetle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backpedalling a lot further back in the movie, to when Thumbelina meets Berkley Beetle for the first time.

Humming and dancing with her new Jitterbug friends, Thumbelina was confident that she'd soon be home with her mother and in her beloved Cornelius' arms if she'd just follow her heart, just like Jaquimo had sung. But until then, she was content with enjoying her journey with these three children.

That is, until they noticed something she didn't, screamed a warning, and then scattered for cover before Thumbelina even knew what was happening. She barely had time to look around before a creepy black stick-like creature jumped directly in front of her with an "Ah-ha!"

It laughed at her shriek of fright and startlement before grinning at her toothily. "Hiya, toots!" he drawled, strutting towards her. "Beetle's my name, and razzmatazz is my game. How d'you do, how're ya feeling, everything okay?" Leaning in, Beetle tickled his moustache-like antennae in her face.

"I'm not your toots!" Thumbelina squirmed, batting the antennae away. "Where did you come from?"

"Where? Up there!" twirling around, Beetle leaned against a nearby mushroom. "I'm a connoisseur of sweet nectars! A designer of rare threads, and a judge of  _beautiful_  women." At that, he leered at her before trapping her with his cane and spinning her until her back was to the mushroom. "And you, are  _bee-utiful_! Miss, um…"

Feeling rather uncomfortable, Thumbelina batted his antennae away from her face again while attempting to answer. "Ah, um, Thumbelina, and I'm going home." Finally able to get out of his arms, she turned to do just that only to find the beetle had zipped around the mushroom to block her path again.

"What's your hurry, toots?" he drawled, tickling his antennae in her face again. " _Relax_! Take a load off!"

"Eugh!" Thumbelina squirmed, disgusted, batting away the antennae once more. "I wish you wouldn't do that!" She managed to walk past him a bit before he grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"Perhaps you'd prefer, this?" On the last word, Beetle planted a loud smooch on her arm, and continued to loudly kiss up and down her arm.

"Mr. Beetle!" she gasped, shocked and embarrassed. "I don't even know you! Would you stop?"

"Stop? How can I stop!" he exclaimed, spinning to her other side and continuing to kiss her hands between each sentence. "I'm crazy about 'bout you, toots. You're gorgeous!" Thumbelina started giggling from Beetle's flattering, not even noticing when his next kiss accidentally missed her hand and met his own, nor when his flattery began to refer to himself as he kissed his own hand between each sentence. "Oh, you're exciting. Ooh, delicious!"

"I am?" Thumbelina asked, amazed. No one had ever praised her like this, not even her beloved Cornelius, and she couldn't help but be flattered.

Remembering he was trying to flirt with her and not himself, Beetle leaned in conspiratorially. "And, I  _love_  the sound of your voice."

"My voice…" Thumbelina half-sung, putting a hand to her throat.

"Don't talk!" Beetle interrupted her, moving right up in her face. " _Sing_. Sing to me."

Here Thumbelina hesitated. She just had the idea of asking Mr. Beetle to fly her up to the treetops, so she could see if she was even traveling in the right direction, but there was a slight problem. She barely knew this bug, she had said so herself. So surely it would be rather rude to ask such a favour of an almost complete stranger, even one who was so nice and complimentary to her. Mentally shrugging, Thumbelina figured that the best course of action was to say goodbye to Mr. Beetle and continue home.

" _It was nice meeting you_ ," she sang. " _But I really must go._ " Turning around, she tried walking away again until Beetle zipped right in front of her once more.

"Seriously toots, where's the fire?" Beetle frowned. What was with this girl? He had laid the schmoozing on as thick as he could, and she was still trying to leave! "Look, if you want me to stop with the kissing and the tickling, I'll stop. Don't go running off cuz of li'l old me."

"Oh no, it's not because of you!" Thumbelina quickly assured him. "It's just that Mother is probably worried sick by now, and Cornelius was supposed to call for me at my house, so I don't want him to think I'm avoiding him or anything-"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" Beetle interrupted, catching a very important detail in all that rambling. "Did you say  _Cornelius_? As in the  _Royal Fairy Prince_  Cornelius? One of the big fairy honchos himself? You're datin'  _him_?"

Slightly taken aback, Thumbelina hesitantly replied, "Oh, um, yes. Prince Cornelius and I are in love."

Beetle mentally rubbed his hands together with glee.  _Everyone_  this side of the Veil had heard that the Fairy Prince had finally been bitten by the love-bug, and right here was the dame responsible! That's why she hadn't responded properly to his flirting!  _Whoa, wait, back up a bit._  Beetle blinked. He'd been heavily flirting with her. Crap, he'd been flirting with the  _Fairy Prince's_  girl like there was no tomorrow! There was no doubt she'd tell the prince all about her little adventure, and when she did, the prince was gonna  _skewer_  him!

 _C'mon, you idiot, think!_  He scrambled his brain for a solution.  _There's gotta be a way to fix this… Bingo!_

"Say, sweet stuff," Beetle finally spoke, deciding to forgo the 'toots' thing like she asked. "You said you needed to get home to meet up with your prince, right? Why don't I help you with that?"

"Really?" Thumbelina asked, excited. "If you'd just fly me up to the treetops so I know what direction I need to go, I'd be ever so grateful!"

"You know what, gorgeous? I'll do you one better," Beetle grinned toothily at her. "Put in a good word for me with the prince, and I will personally fly you to your doorstep. Whaddya say?"

"You'd do that? For me?" Thumbelina was getting really excited now, and would have agreed and let him fly her off that second had she not remembered something. "Just one moment." Turning to the tall grass surrounding them, she called out, "Li'l Bee? Gnatty? Baby Bug? Are you still here? Please come out!"

The Jitterbugs in question each popped their heads up one by one from behind a rock. Slowly, the three flew out to stand in front of Thumbelina, eyeing Beetle cautiously. Thumbelina bent down to be at eye-level with them. "Jitterbugs," she began kindly. "Mr. Beetle here has offered to take me home from here. If you happen to see Cornelius or Jaquimo, will you let them know?" The three looked at each other for a moment, then turned to her.

"Of course," Li'l Bee agreed.

"Definitely!" Gnatty exclaimed.

"Anything for you, Thumbelina," chimed Baby Bug.

Thumbelina beamed at all of them. "Thank you so much! You've all been such wonderful friends." She hugged all three, then straightened and turned to the other bug trying to wait patiently. "Mr. Beetle," she announced. "You have yourself a deal!"

Beetle grinned, then put an arm around her waist, reminding himself to be gentle and keep his hands in one place. She was the future Fairy Princess, after all. "Then point the way, beautiful!" And with that, Beetle took off, Thumbelina looking back and waving to the Jitterbugs before pointing the way home.

Said bugs stayed, watching, until they could no longer see Thumbelina and Mr. Beetle. Then they looked at each other for one moment before Baby Bug yelled, "Race you home!" and took off.

Li'l Bee grinned, then followed suit while shouting, "Last one there's a big ugly wart-face!"

Gnatty, being the smallest and the slowest, blinked before chasing after them, crying, "Hey! No fair, guys! Wait for me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


	3. The Jitterbugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place when Thumbelina meets the Jitterbugs, immediately after they save her from the waterfall.

"Look Mama, she's waking up."

That was the first thing Thumbelina heard as she came to, groaning. She must've passed out from all the excitement and panic of trying to avoid the waterfall and get to shore.

"Oh, are you feeling better, little one?" That was Jaquimo, her new friend. He had been trying to help her out of the water, and he must've succeeded.

"Yes, I think so," Thumbelina answered softly, sitting up. Then she noticed the crowd around her, and she woke up completely. "But, who are you?" she asked bewildered, looking around at everyone.

"Thumbelina," Jaquimo announced, and the girl in question turned to look at him for answers. "These are the Jitterbugs."

"The Jitterbugs?" she echoed, looking around again, before remembering her manners. "Oh! How do you do?" She noticed one of the Jitterbugs had moved to stand right next to her, a rather small one, and her heart melted. It was so cute! Then it spoke in a sweet and innocent voice, and Thumbelina had to restrain herself from hugging it with all her might.

"Are you  _really_  gonna marry the fairy prince?" Blushing and giggling, Thumbelina figured that the little bug had seen them flying around last night. She supposed that she and Cornelius hadn't been very subtle about the whole thing, singing their hearts out to each other for everyone to hear.

"If he asks me," she told the Jitterbug, feeling rather proud. "He will call for me at my house." That's when a thought occurred to her. He had said he'd call for her in the  _morning_. Unless she was mistaken, it was definitely past morning. How did he react when he arrived only to find her gone?

"He must be out looking for me," Thumbelina thought aloud, then sighed wistfully. "But how will he find me?"

"Aw, we'll help you, Thumbelina!" comforted the little bug next to her. Immediately the other Jitterbugs chimed in support.

"You can stay with us!"

"Right!"

"He'd definitely be able to find you around here!"

"Yeah!"

"No fear!"

"You are all very kind, and thank you," Thumbelina interrupted, touched, but still feeling too pessimistic. "But I'm afraid I will never see Cornelius again, or my mother, or…" Burying her face in her hands, she began to feel despair creep up on her.

Jaquimo frowned. He considered himself an expert on romance, especially the seemingly impossible ones. In his opinion, this situation seemed rather simple and not at all impossible. Stay with the Jitterbugs and wait for the fairy prince to come find her. Did this tiny girl have no faith in love or her prince? Perhaps her love for him was weak, as sad as the thought was. Only one way to find out… "Do you  _love_  the prince?"

Looking up at him, she replied in the affirmative with such desperate love and passion that Jaquimo almost felt guilty for ever doubting her feelings.

"Well then follow your heart!" He announced gaily. "It is saying the fairy prince will find you!"

Sighing again, Thumbelina just shook her head and waved the thought away, saying, "It's impossible."

 _Hmph_ , Jaquimo thought.  _That's what she said about the lily pad, and that was easy!_

"Impossible?" he scoffed out loud. "Nothing is impossible!" Hopping off the rock, he felt a song coming on, and he knew he had to use it to give this little one hope.

_You're, sure to do impossible things,_

_If you follow your heart…_

* * *

Cornelius felt cold. He felt lost. He felt tired and bruised and desperate. He'd been searching for days and still no sign of Thumbelina. What if she was more lost than he was? What if she was trapped somewhere, waiting for him to rescue her? What if she was hurt, laying somewhere sick or injured? What if she was de-

 _No! Don't think like that!_  Cornelius thought fiercely.  _She has to be fine, she must be around here somewhere!_  But where? His father wouldn't be able to hold back the frost for much longer. Spotting the communal home of the Jitterbugs, he felt a dash of hope and relief. The Jitterbugs were well-known for their kindness and hospitality, and there was a chance they knew something about Thumbelina. At the very least they would gladly let him have a moment to rest and escape the wind and cold.

Without hesitation, Cornelius steered Buzz to the log entrance of the Jitterbug home. Once they landed, he quickly hopped off the bee and removed his helmet with a sigh of relief. Looking around, he wasn't surprised to see a good amount of Jitterbugs already assembled and watching him, murmuring to each other. As kind as they were, the Jitterbugs were also notorious gossips. If even one had seen him flying towards their home, more would have known about it before he even got close.

Trying to catch his breath, Cornelius raised his voice to be heard over the mumbling. "I-I'm looking for a beautiful young woman. Her name is-is Thumbelina."

"Are you really the fairy prince?"

Looking down, the prince in question saw a young Jitterbug, gazing up at him with hope and excitement. Cornelius smiled, it was kinda cute. "I am," he told the bug, and it seemed to grow even more excited.

"Thumbelina's here!" it exclaimed, and his heart seemed to stop for a moment. Could it be true?

Before he could say anything, another Jitterbug, probably the younger one's mother, walked forward. "Alright, Gnatty," she told it with a smile. "Why don't you go with Li'l Bee and Baby Bug and get Thumbelina."

Gnatty grinned happily, "Okay, Mama!" then raced off with two other young Jitterbugs further down the log. The mother then turned to Cornelius, who was frozen in place. "Now why don't you take a seat right here, your highness," she urged him, leading him to a bit of wood fashioned like a bench. "You must be worn to the bone."

Cornelius simply let himself be gently pushed onto the bench, his legs shaky and so in shock at the thought of having  _finally_  found her that he just couldn't refuse. Once sitting though, he remembered his manners enough to say, "Oh, uh, thank you, Miss…"

"Just call me Mama Bug, dear," she waved. "Everyone does, even Thumbelina."

His attention caught, the fairy prince looked up at Mama Bug with hope and something akin to fear. "She's really here?" After days of searching, would he finally get to hold her again?

Mama Bug chuckled and nodded. "Been here since those toads left her. She said they wanted her to join their singing troupe and marry into their family, and left her on a lily pad while they went to go get the padre."

Cornelius clenched his hands into fists as his eyes narrowed. How dare they! Stupid, arrogant, pompous toads…

"If it wasn't for Jaquimo the swallow," Mama Bug continued, noticing the prince's anger. "Who knows what would've happened. In fact, he's with Thumbelina now, instead of flying south for the winter. And good thing, too. He seemed to be the only one who could lift her spirits when she started to lose hope."

Before Cornelius could question Mama Bug further, his name was cried from deeper within the Jitterbug home, and he could distinctly hear footsteps running his way. He leapt to his feet, his heart in his throat and all thoughts wiped from his mind except one.  _Please let it be her…_

All he had for a warning as Thumbelina ran into view was her shouting his name again before she practically threw herself at him. Immediately he wrapped his arms around her waist before picking her up and spinning her around in sheer joy. Setting her on her feet once more, Cornelius held her with a death grip, as if he expected something to try and pry her away from him again. Not that Thumbelina was complaining, for she was squeezing him just as tightly.

Fighting back the tears pricking his eyes, he managed to choke out, "You are  _never_  leaving my sight again." Allowing his arms to loosen just enough to let her look at him, the dazzling smile Thumbelina gave in response was the last straw. Vaguely hearing the Jitterbugs cheering and celebrating around them, Cornelius closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hesitate to ask questions or leave comments if you have any. I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Thumbelina's Kidnapping By Mrs. Toad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This new chapter takes place way early in the movie, after our lovely couple's famous song, immediately after Cornelius flew off into the night.

Thumbelina sighed dreamily as she watched her new beloved fly off into the night. Did that really just happen? First she discovered that there were others her size, and they were  _fairies_  on top of that! Then she was given the chance to fly, and see some of the world past her front yard. And  _then_ , she'd managed to get her heart stolen by a handsome, sweet, kind,  _wonderful_  fairy, who happened to also be the fairy prince! Her head was still reeling from the idea that she was in love with a prince, and he loved her in return! And tomorrow she was going to meet his parents, and he'd get to meet Mother, and…

 _Mother!_  Thumbelina blinked the stars from her eyes and brought her head back to earth. She needed to tell her mother about tomorrow! Thumbelina didn't want to surprise her too much with Cornelius, and could help find a dress suitable for seeing royalty! Besides, now that the thought was there, Thumbelina thought she would burst if she didn't tell  _someone_  about the magical time she just had. Who better than her own mother?

Running back inside, Thumbelina began crying "Hero! Wake up, Hero!" to alert the dog of her return. The dog in question wuffed, then raised his head in her direction, blinking blearily. The small girl quickly ran over to stand in front of Hero, who obligingly bent his head down to her eye level. Clasping her hands together, Thumbelina begged, "Hero, could you please carry me to Mother? I need to talk to her."

With a sigh, Hero lowered his head further to be level with the table and allowed Thumbelina to climb on top with a smile. Once she was settled on his head, the dog hopped down from his resting place and trotted down the stairs to the kitchen, where the woman in question happened to be doing some reading of her own by the fire before going to bed herself. Upon seeing her, Thumbelina stretched herself up to be more noticeable and began calling for her mother.

Looking down, Widow Barbara saw her daughter waving to her from Hero's head. "Thumbelina?" she asked as she lowered her hand down to let her child clamber onto it. "What are you doing still up? It is past your bedtime. Is something wrong?"

Thumbelina just couldn't contain her excitement. "Mother! I met someone my size!" she exclaimed. "He saw me, and took me flying, oh and his name is Cornelius, and he's a fairy prince, and he wants me to meet his parents tomorrow and I asked him to meet you as well, and he agreed and he said he'll call for me in the morning, and he loves me!"

Widow Barbara blinked and stared at her little girl. You would too, if your daughter had told you such a tale all in one breath. Thumbelina had never lied before in her life, and while she loved stories, she was never one to make them up out of the blue like this. But a fairy prince?

Then again, Widow Barbara was one to talk, with a daughter no bigger than her thumb.

"…Perhaps you should tell me what happened from the beginning," she finally decided. "And then we can work out what needs doing from there."

With a happy grin so big it was a wonder her face didn't crack, Thumbelina launched into her tale. Hero, seeing that his services were no longer needed, lumbered back up the stairs to go back to sleep. From the sound of it, Hero had a feeling that the two women downstairs were going to be up talking for quite a while.

* * *

Mrs. Toad hopped onto the window ledge, taking a moment to catch her breath. That had taken some work, hopping all the way from her boat-home to get this  _chiquita_  to join her show. But it was worth it. With that voice in the group, Mrs. Toad and her family would soon have to swim through all their money just to get from backstage to front!

Peeking through the window, Mrs. Toad saw an open walnut facing an upright human book. Squinting, she could make out a bit of bedding hanging off the side of the walnut.

_Gotcha!_

Quietly opening the window, Mrs. Toad hopped inside. She then hopped onto the table, then on top of the stack of books, then finally to just behind the walnut bed. Slowly, moving bit-by-bit, she peeked out from behind the walnut to look into the bed, her arms outstretched to snap the walnut shut-

Only to find the bed empty.

Horrified, Mrs. Toad cursed in heavy Spanish as she looked around the room for the little  _nina_  who'd make her show even more famous. This was literally the only chance she had to take her! Those pesky fairies wasted almost no time on courting when it came to love, and the royal family was no exception! If she didn't do it now, the prince would almost definitely come calling, whisk little Thumbelina off to the fairy court, and proceed to plan the wedding. After tonight, her tiny star-to-be would never be alone until after the ceremony, and then to take away a member of the royal family, however new, was punishable by death! No, it had to be tonight. Thumbelina had to be here somewhere. Determined, Mrs. Toad scanned the room for any sign of a tiny girl no larger than a human's thumb…

And found herself staring down a very large, very awake, and very annoyed, dog.

Screeching, Mrs. Toad launched herself at the window to freedom, Hero snapping at her heels in hot pursuit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this was too short. I'll leave it up to your imaginations as to whether or not Hero gets the Toad.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


	5. Let Me Be Your Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of "What Could Have Been", sadly. It's set at the tail-end of Let Me Be Your Wings. It's pretty short, but this "what if" scenario is really a split-second decision change on Thumbelina and Cornelius' part.

Mrs. Toad stepped out onto the stage of her boat-home for some fresh air, having finally removed all of her stage make-up from that night's performance. She walked over to the edge of the boat, where her eldest son, Grundel, was crouched, watching the pond. What for, she had no clue. As good as his voice was, Grundel was not the brightest firefly in the swamp. How she was ever going to find him a wife someday, she didn't know.

" _We'll see the universe,_

_And dance on Saturn's rings…"_

Both mother and son glanced up to see two little people, and Mrs. Toad could make out at least one set of wings leaving a glittery trail behind them.  _Fairies,_  she realized,  _and going by the love song, a courting couple._

She recognized the male voice, even in harmony with another. Fairy Prince Cornelius was one of the few fairies that liked to travel around this side of the Veil without an escort or a parade. The female voice, however, was new. Mrs. Toad strained her ear-drums to hear the female's voice in a solo, without the Prince's voice harmonizing, but the couple had already flown over the boat and off to sing their vows of love elsewhere.

Slightly disappointed, Mrs. Toad shrugged it off before heading out to catch some dinner. She was always on the lookout for some fresh talent for her family's show, and she had the feeling that girl fairy's voice would have been pretty decent. But since she couldn't know for sure, Mrs. Toad wouldn't bother chasing after her.

Besides, the Fairy Prince was likely going to marry her soon, based on the passion in their song, so why go through the trouble of snatching up a girl whose voice was only "pretty decent" before the wedding?

* * *

Grundel watched the fairy couple a few moments more than his mother, curiously squinting for a better look at what the two looked like, but gave up after they flew out of his sight.

Snorting in slight distaste, Grundel finally stood and walked back inside the curtained area of his home. Fairy people were weird, he decided, falling in love at the drop of a hat, and singing it for everyone to know. They looked weird too, in his opinion. Grundel was glad he didn't have to deal with them much. Fairies were probably more trouble than they were worth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly hoped you enjoyed my story! I have at least two other Thumbelina plots in my head, but what with the twenty billion-ish other plot bunnies I have to work on I can honestly say that I have absolutely no clue when I'll be getting around to posting them.
> 
> Please don't hesitate to leave a comment or kudos!


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